This article covers cultural cooperation between India and Italy, education links, tourism promotion and the Indian community in Italy. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of May 2026. The brief describes a strong people-to-people connect between the two countries, with a large Indian diaspora.

Cultural agreements and events

An Executive Programme on Cultural Cooperation for 2023-27 was signed in 2023. For the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in July 2023, an ICCR troupe, "Panihari Lok Sangeet", performed Rajasthani folk dances in four cities.

The brief records the following events and commemorations organised or supported by India in Italy:

  • The 11th edition of the International Day of Yoga (IDY) was celebrated in 2025 in several cities. In Rome, it was held at Castel Sant Angelo with Member of Parliament Smt. S. Phangnon Konyak as Chief Guest.
  • A bust of Mahatma Gandhi gifted by ICCR was unveiled in Brindisi on 7 August 2024, and Gandhi Jayanti was celebrated across Italy in October 2025.
  • A bronze bust of Maharishi Valmiki gifted by ICCR was unveiled in Comporotondo in July 2025.
  • The Embassy also celebrated Tagore Jayanti.
  • Diwali is celebrated in the Senate every year by the Italian Hinduist Union (IHU).

The Embassy organised the first "Incredible India Cultural Festival" at Teatro India in Rome from 26-28 September 2025. It featured performances and workshops on dance, music, yoga, Ayurveda and films, with more than 100 artists based in Italy. On 27 September 2025, the Embassy organised a #ViksitBharatRun2025 in Rome, in which nearly 150 Indian nationals participated.

On January 28, 2026, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mr. Antonio Tajani, was Chief Guest at the Embassy's Republic Day reception in Rome.

Film

The 25th edition of the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival was held in Florence from 5-10 December 2025.

The first Indian Film Festival was organised in collaboration with ANICA in Rome from 7 to 11 February 2025, with special screenings of Indian films in Matera, Bari, Potenza and Anzio and at the Umbria Film Festival in Montone. The 2026 edition was inaugurated in Rome on 20 February 2026 and featured a retrospective of films by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Official cultural visits

Secretary (Culture) Shri Vivek Aggarwal visited Italy from 10 to 13 November 2025. He met Mr. Federico Mollicone, Member of Parliament and President of the Culture Commission, Ms. Aruna Gujral, Director General of ICCROM, and Mr. Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, President of the Venice Biennale Foundation.

According to the brief, the India Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale was to be inaugurated by Union Culture Minister Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in May 2026 and to stay open until November 2026.

Indology and Indian languages

The brief notes a long-standing tradition of Indology in Italy and of the study of Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil and Sanskrit. Vishwa Hindi Diwas is regularly celebrated at the University of Naples and other universities.

Indian students in Italy

According to the MEA brief of May 2026, there were 5105 Indian university students in Italian universities in 2025. Most are enrolled in engineering, finance or economics, and medicine. They study mostly at Politecnico di Milano (Milan), La Sapienza University (Rome), Tor Vergata University (Rome) and Politecnico di Torino (Turin).

A school based on the Cambridge Curriculum functions in Rome, with students mainly from the Indian subcontinent. Most children of Indians living in Italy attend local Italian schools.

  • In June 2025, the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with India's Ministry of Education to open a branch campus in Mumbai offering Bachelor's degree programmes.
  • In August 2025, Campus Biomedico Rome and Plaksha University (Punjab) signed an MoU for double degree programmes in Mohali, Punjab.
  • In September 2025, The Design Village (TDV), a design education institution originally based in Noida, launched a campus in Borgo Priolo, Italy. The brief states that it is the first Indian design school to open a campus in Europe.

The Indian community in Italy

Indian nationals in Italy form the largest Indian community in the European Union. As of January 2025, they were the seventh largest foreign community in Italy, at 1,86,833, or 3.25% of the foreign nationals residing in Italy. A majority work in agriculture, dairy farming and factories. Some are employed as care-givers and nurses, and others run restaurants, grocery stores and vehicle repair or wash centres.

The concentration of Indians is higher in north Italy (56.8%), mostly in the Lombardy region (27.6%). Central Italy hosts 28.8% of the Indian population, especially the Lazio Region (22.2% of the Indian diaspora), where several Indian nationals from Kerala reside. In the South, the Campania region hosts 4.5% of the Indian community.

In the province of Cremona in Lombardy, Indians of Punjabi origin are the single largest immigrant group, at 20% of the total immigrant population. Rome has 22,225 Indian nationals, followed by Brescia (15,946) and Latina (14,244).

Milan is home to around 60,000 Indian nationals, mainly from Punjab (85%) and Haryana (10%), and from other regions such as Rajasthan. In Milan, approximately 1500 Indians work in the IT, gems, diamonds and restaurant sectors.

The Punjabi community is estimated at over 70% of the Indian diaspora. There are several temples and nearly 90 Gurdwaras.

Occupations

The brief cites a 2025 report of the Italian Ministry of Labour on the Indian community for the share of Indian nationals in different professions:

  • Agriculture: 33.5%
  • Industry: 28.5%
  • Business and services: 10.8%
  • Commerce: 8.4%
  • Hospitality: 5.7%